Hare Krishna!
Welcome to the seventh issue of "Waves of Sankirtana", the monthly newsletter of the India Sankirtana Leaders Team! In this issue, we cover the following highlights:
1. Srila Prabhupada Speaks: "No mundane compromise"
2. India Sankirtana Report Card - November 2014
3. Sankirtana News from around the country:
- Urdu Gita under the Street Lights
- A Krishna's Miracle in Hyderabad
- "Kartika Deepam" Crowds get Books
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Srila Prabhupada Speaks
Although India has the sublime knowledge of Bhagavad-gītā, Indians have not done their proper duty of distributing it. Now, therefore, the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement has been set up to distribute this knowledge as it is, without distortion. Although previously there were attempts to distribute the knowledge of Bhagavad-gītā, these attempts involved distortion and compromise with mundane knowledge. But now the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, without mundane compromises, is distributing Bhagavad-gītā as it is, and people are deriving the benefits of awakening to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and becoming devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Therefore the proper distribution of knowledge has begun by which not only will the whole world benefit, but India's glory will be magnified in human society. Kaṁsa tried to arrest Kṛṣṇa consciousness within his house (bhojendra-gehe), with the result that Kaṁsa, with all his opulences, was later vanquished. Similarly, the real knowledge of Bhagavad-gītā was being choked by unscrupulous Indian leaders, with the result that India's culture, and knowledge of the Supreme were being lost. Now, however, because Kṛṣṇa consciousness is spreading, the proper use of Bhagavad-gītā is being attempted. -- SB 10.2.19, Translation and Purport
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India Sankirtana Report Card - November 2014
The graph and chart below show the Indian temples that made it to the Top 50 list (or close) as per the World Sankirtana Newsletter - November 2014.
All glories to the wonderful service by devotees across India! The table below lists individual book distributors for November 2014 with world rank, name, book points, and temple affiliation.
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Sankirtana News
A compilation of stories and reports from December 2014. We will present more in the next issue as well. Please send in your stories and reports to indiasankirtana@gmail.com.
Urdu Gita under the Street Lights - Mumbai Chowpatty
"We 3 matajis had put up our stall on Matunga railway bridge. One day, we were winding up around 9.30 p.m. One young boy with a muslim cap came up to stall and asked if we had Bhagavad Gita in Urdu. Fortunately, we had one. He took out a 50 ruppee note to buy the book. The book however costs more. So, we told that we won't be able to give him at lesser price. The boy checked his pockets for more money, but there wasn't any. He then asked us that his house is very closeby and that if they could wait for 15 minutes, he would get more money and take the book. The boy ran back to his home when we said we would wait and continue winding-up. 15 minutes had passed but there was no sign of the boy. We thought he may not come! Nonetheless, I asked my other 2 partners to go ahead and take the books down the bridge so as to keep it back in our storage place some distance away. As they went down the bridge, I saw this young muslim boy come running at the same speed he left us. He got the remaining money and paid me and happily took his urdu book. I then quickly ran to join my 2 friends to help them carry books and table to the storage room. It was now 10 pm... by the time we kept the books and table at the storage room and came back to station to go to our home, it was around 10.30 p.m... and then to our surprise, we saw the same boy was sitting under the street lamp post and studying his newly aquired urdu Bhagavad Gita. We all felt that it was worth all the effort we had put. Our score may be not very enormous, but when we see ourselves becoming an agent to give someone srila Prabhupada's books and see its effects, all our efforts bear fruits."
A Krishna's Miracle in Hyderabad
A fired-up group of young devotees under the guidance of HG Priya Govinda prabhu and HG Krishna Keshava prabhu distributed books in western Hyderabad for the December Marathon 2014. Going door to door, the team preached the message of Krishna consciousness and practically experienced the spiritual benefits of book distribution through their interactions, both positive and negative. By their sincere, dedicated, and enthusiastic efforts, they distributed 60 sets of Srimad Bhagavatam in the area in December! Hear the story about how the books speak for themselves.
"Karthika Deepam" crowds get books
It was big endeavour to stand and distribute books for more than 24 hours continuously, and we all distributed lot of books. Our team from Bangalore distributed 550 Maha big books on that day! Devotees experienced the bliss of Krsna Consciousness! There were several devotees visiting from Salem, Chennai, Vellore, Pondichery, and Srirangam – Everyone had book tables at various places around the hill and did good book distribution. In total, more than 3500 Maha big books were distributed by the devotees on that day.
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Sankirtana Training
Below is an insightful interview that discusses goal setting and planning in the context of spiritual life in general. The answers presented herein give a strong foundation for us to plan our activities in the year ahead.
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Tell us what you think!
- Report your book distribution scores,
- Share your experiences, realizations, and stories,
- Ask (or answer) a question (FAQ) on book distribution,
- Suggest a book distributor who could share valuable insights,
- Give ideas for how to make this newsletter better and sweeter,
- Get involved with ISLT strategy and help develop this newsletter,
- Extend your support and encouragement with comments or letters.
For your convenience, we have also included a contact form on the right hand side bar of this page. Thank you very much for reading this month's newsletter!
Param Vijayate Sri Krishna Sankirtanam!
Your servants,
Sri Rama Dasa
Krishna Mitra Nitai Dasa
Vamsuli Dasa
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